Free Speech
Fifth Circuit Speaks Out Against Campus Speech Codes (in University of Texas Case)
Speech First, a pro-campus-free-speech advocacy group, can go on with its challenge to UT-Austin's speech codes—and the panel strongly suggests those codes (backed by anonymous reporting to the Campus Climate Response Team) are unconstitutional.
Published Criticism of Lawyer Isn't Retaliation Forbidden by Disability Law
"The Court cannot punish or hold Defendants liable merely for publishing a summary of Plaintiff's disciplinary action and their commentary about that decision."
Narcos TV Show Doesn't Infringe Virginia Vallejo's Memoir
A good illustration of a basic principle: Facts are not protected by copyright.
Criminal Libel Conviction Over Fake-Name Online Reviews
An interesting new case from Wisconsin.
Zoom's Refusal to Host Events That Include Terrorist Group Leader Leila Khaled
Prof. Steven Lubet (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law) has an excellent analysis.
Gossip About Real Housewives of Orange County "Bravolebrities" Is on "Public Issue"
So holds the California Court of Appeal, interpreting the California anti-SLAPP statute.
School District Bans All "Political Speech" on Student T-Shirts
Pretty clearly unconstitutional, it seems to me, whether applied to pro-Trump T-shirts (as in a recently-filed lawsuit) or to other such material.
Police Chief Gets Restraining Order Barring "Cop Watcher" from Publicly Videorecording Her
But the Oregon Court of Appeals rightly reverses.
Lawyer Dean Boland Asks Google to Deindex Court Opinions, Newspaper Articles, Blog Posts About Him
Including from Above The Law, Jonathan Turley, PopeHat, Simple Justice, TechDirt, Reuters, Bloomberg, L.A. Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and more.
Don't Be Fooled By Our Media Wars: Everybody Hates Free Speech
Treating free expression like an instrument of power means that the fight is more about who gets punished most when politicians write new restrictions.
"Fake News": Preventing Falsehoods in Candidate Statements in Ballot Pamphlets
The Washington Supreme Court overrules a trial court's order requiring the removal of one such statement; but what should the general rule on this be?
When Encryption Was a Crime: The 1990s Battle for Free Speech in Software
Part three in Reason's documentary series, "Cypherpunks Write Code," tells the story of the U.S. government's long battle to keep strong cryptography out of the hands of its citizens
Can't Seal Case Just Because It's Frivolous
"In nearly all civil and criminal litigation ..., one party asserts that the allegations leveled against it by another party are patently false"; but "if the purported falsity of the complaint's allegations were sufficient to seal an entire case, then the law would recognize a presumption to seal instead of a presumption of openness."
Courts Should Check 'Majority Rule'
Democrats and Republicans agree on that point, although they disagree about what it means in practice.
Conservative Commentator Candace Owens Sues USA Today and Fact-Checker "Lead Stories" for Libel
over allegedly false fact-checking "charging [Owens] with spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic on the internet in 'an attempt to downplay the severity' of the pandemic."
Ted Cruz Threatens To Force Facebook and Twitter Heads To Testify About Hunter Biden Article
Plus: Supreme Court won't stop Pennsylvania from counting late ballots, proposed amendment would limit Court to nine justices, and more...
Politics and Social Media: Should We Use Exit, Voice, or Loyalty?
The Reason Roundtable argues over what to do when Twitter prematurely suppresses oppo-dump journalism unfavorable to Democrats, and when politicians respond with retaliatory regulation.
$465 Million Judgment Against Johnson & Johnson Threatens Freedom of Speech
A brief supporting the company's appeal argues that its discussion of pain treatment was constitutionally protected.
No Sealing of Health Care Quality Review Report in Doctor-vs.-Hospital Lawsuit
"Plaintiff would have his allegations litigated in a star chamber with a jury of ordinary citizens presumably barred from discussing the case after their service in a closed courtroom."
Minnesota Order Banning "False or Defamatory Statements" Limited to Knowingly False And Defamatory Statements
So says the Minnesota Court of Appeals, as to a "harassment restraining order."
Milo Yiannopoulos Defends Basic Traditions of Journalism
A federal judge makes it clear: "the consumption of alcohol at a party does not vitiate journalistic intent"; hard-drinking reporters are as covered by the journalist's privilege as the abstemious. Other journalistic traditions that aren't disqualifying: bias, and bearing grudges.
Eighth Circuit Seals Published (Printed) Opinion, Later Grants Our Motion to Unseal
An attempt to protect litigant privacy meant that binding precedent was vanished from Westlaw.
Twitter Blocking a New York Post Article Was Dumb—but Not Illegal, Censorship, or Election Interference
Plus: 898,000 new jobless claims, and more...
Ira Glasser: Would Today's ACLU Defend the Speech Rights of Nazis?
The subject of the new film Mighty Ira explains why social justice warriors are wrong to attack free speech.
Defending Amy Coney Barrett, Ted Cruz Highlights the Threats That Democrats Pose to Civil Liberties
The Texas senator notes the opposing party's blind spots on freedom of speech and the right to arms.
Justice Thomas Writes in Favor of a Narrow Reading of 47 U.S.C. § 230
He seems open to materially increasing Internet service and content providers' liability for libels posted by their users, and based on other user misconduct.
No Preliminary Injunctions Against Libel
A good illustration of the modern rule, which allows some permanent injunctions against repeating specific statements found to be libelous at trial—but only after such a finding on the merits.
German-Style Internet Censorship Catches On Around the World
Inspired by Germany's notorious hate-speech law, more countries seek to impose steep penalties on platforms that don't comply with their censorship whims.
Promoting On-Campus Discourse: Recommendations
Here are some ways to build a campus culture more open to free inquiry and discourse.
The Problem with Mandated Diversity Statements in Faculty Hiring and Promotion
Improving diversity is a worthy endeavor. But compelled “diversity statements” are a form of social engineering that, ironically, can be exclusionary.
House Antitrust Report Hits Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google
Plus: Tech companies respond, proposed H-1B visa changes, and more...
Why a Broad View of Academic Freedom Is Essential
Most things faculty publish don’t lead to a backlash. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not an academic freedom problem.
Three Core Beliefs that Define the Boundaries of Free Inquiry and Discourse on Many Campuses
These beliefs shouldn’t be considered the only legitimate way to see the world.
How Social Media Have Changed Campus Climate
The dynamics of the information ecosystem have impacted research and teaching.
"Unassailable Ideas: How Unwritten Rules and Social Media Shape Discourse in American Higher Education"
Profs. Ilana Redstone and John Villasenor are guest-blogging this week about their new book.
